Baked Caramel French Toast

INGREDIENTS:

• 1cup brown sugar, packed
• 1cup butter
• 2tablespoons light corn syrup
• 12French Bread slices (or two layers of loaf bread)
• 6large eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2cups milk
• 1teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4teaspoon salt
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• Directions:
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1. Combine sugar, butter and corn syrup in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until smooth and thickened, stir constantly as it become a caramel.
2. Coat a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Pour caramel mixture into the dish. Fit bread slices tightly into the dish, trimming if necessary.
3. In a medium bowl combine eggs, milk, vanilla and salt whisking together well. Pour egg mixture over bread. Cover and refrigerate for eight hours.
4. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F. for 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Slice into sections and serve upside down. Garnish with whipped cream or whipped butter

.https://cookmore.com/recipe/baked-caramel-french-toast/

Sweetheart Valentine Cake Decorating

What you'll need

• Cake baked in heart-shape pan
• FOR THE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
• 2 cups sweet butter, at room temperature
• 6 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• Food coloring

How to make it

What you'll need

• Cake baked in heart-shape pan
• FOR THE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
• 2 cups sweet butter, at room temperature
• 6 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• Food coloring

How to make it

What you'll need

• Cake baked in heart-shape pan
• FOR THE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
• 2 cups sweet butter, at room temperature
• 6 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• Food coloring

How to make it

1. HEART MAKERS: Start by baking your favorite cake mix according to package directions in a heart-shaped pan. You can buy these special pans, mini or regular size, from most kitchen supply and hardware stores. Or, bake your cake batter in a 9-inch square and a 9-inch circle pan (the square pan must have sides the same length as the circle's diameter). Cut the circular cake in half and set each semicircle against adjoining sides of the square to form the top of the heart. The other two sides of the square form the point.
2. THE ICING ON THE CAKE: With an electric mixer, cream the frosting ingredients together until smooth. Cool the cake completely, brush away the crumbs, and frost it, reserving a portion of the icing for decorating. Divide the leftover icing into small bowls and tint each one with a different color of food coloring (for stronger shades, use specialty pastes, which are available at kitchen supply and party stores).
3. DECORATING SUPPLIES: Fancy frosting designs are easy to create using an icing filled pastry bag with decorating tips. You can buy starter kits at grocery, kitchen supply, and party stores. Kits that come with disposable pastry bags, three to four tips, and a coupler for changing tips cost between $3 and $6. When choosing tips, keep in mind that the most versatile ones are the writing, star, and leaf. Before decorating the cake, kids should first practice writing with the frosting on waxed paper.
4. Use the writing tip's plain line for letters, leaf stems, squiggles, dots and outlines.
5. Make stars with the star tip by holding the tip straight down near the cake and squeezing until the star forms. For a neat finish, stop the pressure before pulling away. The star tip also makes a pretty border around the cake.
6. The leaf tip makes a ribbon with a ridge down the center. For a leaf, squeeze out the icing to form the bottom edge, then relax the pressure and pull the tip away to make a rippling leaf.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   http://spoonful.com/recipes/sweetheart-valentine-cake

Conversation Heart Fudge

What you'll need

• DARK CHOCOLATE LAYER:
• 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
• Dash of salt
• WHITE CHOCOLATE LAYER:
• 1 1/4 cups white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
• Dash of salt
• OTHER INGREDIENTS AND MATERIALS:
• Aluminum foil
• 64 conversation hearts
• 64 red foil bonbon cups or mini muffin cups
• Clear or red cellophane wrap, cut into 64 5- by 6-inch rectangles
• Sparkly pipe cleaners in red, pink, or silver

How to make it

1. Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil. Set aside.
2. In a medium-size, microwave-safe bowl, combine the dark chocolate layer ingredients. Microwave the mixture on high at 30-second intervals until the chocolate is melted (about a minute), stirring at each interval. When the mixture's smooth, use a spatula to spread it evenly into the prepared pan.
3. In another medium-size microwave-safe bowl, combine the white chocolate layer ingredients. Repeat the melting process as described in step 2, but stir at 20-second intervals, as white chocolate tends to scorch easily. Spread the white chocolate evenly over the dark chocolate layer.
4. While the fudge is still warm, use a knife to gently score it into 1-inch squares, then put a candy heart on top of each square.
5. Chill the fudge uncovered in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or until firm. Lift the foil to remove the fudge from the pan and place the whole hunk of fudge on a cutting board. Use a large knife (a parent's job) to cut apart the squares, then peel off the foil from the bottom.
6. Place each fudge square into a foil bonbon cup or mini muffin cup. Center the cup on a cellophane square and wrap it as shown on page 53, using 1-inch pieces of pipe cleaner to secure the ends. Makes 64 bite-size pieces. Store at room temperature or in the refrigerator for added firmness.

http://spoonful.com/recipes/conversation-heart-fudge

Strawberry Shortcake Pops

1/2 prepared pound cake, crumbled (a little more than 2 c.)
3/4 c. Betty Crocker "Whipped" Whipped Cream Frosting
6-8 large strawberries (1 c. chopped)
2 c. white chocolate, melted 
lollipop sticks (available at Michael's or JoAnn Fabrics) 

1. Mix pound cake, frosting, and strawberries together in a medium bowl.
2. Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls.
3. Cut or break lollipop sticks in half; twist 1 stick into the center of each cake ball, about halfway in.
4. Freeze until firm. 
5. Dip pops in melted white chocolate to cover.
6. Chill until ready to serve.

Makes 2 dozen.

http://www.lemontreedwelling.com/2013/05/strawberry-shortcake-pops.html?m=1

Strawberry-Blueberry Shortcake

What you'll need

• SHORTCAKES
• 5 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup margarine or shortening
• 2 cups milk
• STRAWBERRIES IN SYRUP
• 2 quart fresh strawberries, sliced
• 1/2 cup sugar
• WHIPPED CREAM
• 1 pint whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

How to make it

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and sugar together in a large bowl.
2. Slice the margarine sticks into pats and add to the dry mixture. Using a handheld pastry cutter or your fingertips, mix the margarine and dry ingredients until they resemble a coarse meal. Avoid overmixing.
3. Make a small well in the center and pour the milk into it. Stir just until the mixture holds together. If the dough appears too sticky, sprinkle in a little more flour.
4. Turn the shortcake dough onto a lightly floured countertop or pastry cloth and pat into a 1-inch-thick circle, handling it as little as possible. Do not knead the dough; doing so will make the shortcake biscuits heavy.
5. Use a biscuit cutter or inverted cup to cut out the shortcakes, and arrange about 1 1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool before serving. Makes 10 to 12 shortcake biscuits.
6. To make the strawberries in syrup, wash and hull the strawberries and slice them into a glass bowl. Sprinkle with the sugar. Stir a few times, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. The strawberries will release some juice and make a light syrup. Stir once again before spooning the berries on top of the shortcakes.
7. Before whipping the cream, place a stainless steel bowl in the freezer for a little while to chill. Pour the whipping cream into the chilled mixing bowl. Add the maple syrup (you can substitute a teaspoon of vanilla extract or a couple of tablespoons of sugar) and whip with an electric mixer or a whisk until stiff. Keep refrigerated until you're ready to serve the dessert.
8. To serve the shortcake, split the biscuits into halves. Spoon some of the strawberries and syrup onto the bottom halves. Cover with the remaining shortcake halves and spoon more of the strawberries on top. Top with the whipped cream and garnish with fresh blueberries.

http://spoonful.com/recipes/strawberry-blueberry-shortcake

Red, White and Blue Cheesecake

What you'll need

• CRUST
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• FILLING
• 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• TOPPING
• 1 pint fresh blueberries

How to make it

1. Heat the oven to 325º F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with waxed paper.
2. Put the graham cracker crumbs in a medium bowl. Add the butter and mix with a fork until evenly moistened. Press the mixture over the bottom and up 1 inch of the sides of the pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl when necessary. Beat in the sour cream until blended. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Pour half of the batter into the pan.
4. Put the jam and lemon juice in a small saucepan and warm over low heat, stirring often, until melted and smooth (about 4 minutes). Drizzle one fourth of the jam mixture in stripes over the batter in the pan. Spoon the remaining batter over the jam, then drizzle with 1/8 cup of jam. Reserve the last of the jam mixture to drizzle over the cheesecake.
5. Swirl the batter gently with a thin knife to marbleize it slightly.
6. Bake the cheesecake until firm around the edges but still slightly wobbly in the center, 70 to 80 minutes. (Don't worry if your cheesecake cracks while baking or cooling.) Set the cake in the pan on a wire rack, run a knife along the inside edge to loosen the sides, and let it cool completely. Wrap the cake in plastic and chill it for at least 4 hours.
7. Take the cake out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. Remove the pan sides and place the cake on a platter. Warm the remaining jam mixture until liquid, then drizzle it over the cheesecake. Serve with the fresh blueberries. Serves 12 to 16.

http://spoonful.com/recipes/red-white-and-blue-cheesecake

Red, White & Blue Jello Shots

Ingredients

50 1oz plastic cups, or 25 2oz cups

Red & Blue layers

3oz box of red Jello

3oz box of blue Jello

2 cups vodka ( I used Smirnoff Raspberry)

2 cups water

White layer

2/3 cup heavy cream

2/3 cup milk (I used fat free)

2/3 cup vanilla vodka (I used Absolut Vanilla)

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons Knox powdered gelatin

1 1/2 tablespoons water

Instructions

1. Blue layer; Heat 1 cup water, add blue Jello mix, stir until dissolved. Add 1 cup vodka, stir. NOTE; this recipe is pretty strong. If you want less intense jello shots I would go with 1 1/4 cups water to 3/4 cups vodka. I wouldn’t make them any stronger though, because the gelatin in the jello needs the water to set the alcohol. Not enough water, and they might not set.

2. Distribute evenly into 50 1oz cups, filling only 1/3 full, then refrigerate until set, about 1-2 hours.

3. Next is the white layer; this is the most difficult part of these tricolor shots! Place powdered gelatin and water in small bowl, let soak for 5 minutes to allow the gelatin to “bloom”. In a medium saucepan, heat cream, milk, sugar and vanilla extract to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, add gelatin and stir to dissolve. Add vanilla vodka. Let cool 10-15 minutes before topping blue layer.

4. Once blue layer is set and the white mixture has cooled, pour an equal amount of the white mixture on top of the blue. You’re almost there!

5. Finally the red layer; it is the same exact thing as the blue. Heat 1 cup water, add red Jello mix, stir until dissolved. Add 1 cup vodka, stir. Cool 5-10 minutes.

6. Once the white layer has set, and red mixture cooled, fill the cups the rest of the way until full. Refrigerate until set, about 1-2 hours.

7. Enjoy some patriotic jello shots!! =] Garnish with mini flags on toothpicks. Looks super cute, plus using the toothpick to release the jello from the sides of the plastic cup makes it come out easily without breaking apart.

http://gurutotheoutdoors.com/red-white-blue-jello-shots/